• Energy Research
• Open Access close
• Restricted close
• Embargo close
• 12. Responsible consumption close
• FR close

Sustainability of agro-food supply chains has recently become the subject of greater interest from consumers, firms, governmental organizations and academia as the environment continues to deteriorate. One of the most critical factors influencing the sustainability of an agro-food supply chain is its network design. A particularly challenging aspect in this context is the broad range of influencing indicators associated with the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) of sustainability that need to be considered. However, many of these indicators could not be fully integrated or measured by single-step optimization problems. This paper presents a critical literature review of operational research methods for the design of sustainable supply chains. A novel two-stage hybrid solution methodology is proposed. In the first stage, a partner selection is performed using a hybrid multi criteria decision making based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and the Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) aggregation method. The result obtained in the first stage is used in the second stage to develop a multi-objective mathematical model to optimize the design of the supply chain network. This approach allows the simultaneous consideration of all three dimensions of sustainability including carbon footprint, water footprint, number of jobs created and the total cost of the supply chain design. The proposed approach generates a Pareto frontier to aid users in making decisions. Numerical experiments are completed utilizing data from an agro-food company to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed solution methodology. The analyzes of the numerical results provide important organizational, practical and policy insights on (1) the impact of financial and environmental sustainability on supply chain network design (2) the tradeoff analysis between environmental emission, water footprint, societal implications and associated cost for making informed decision on supply chain investment.

The ‘4 per mille Soils for Food Security and Climate’ was launched at the COP21 with an aspiration to increase global soil organic matter stocks by 4 per 1000 (or 0.4 %) per year as a compensation for the global emissions of greenhouse gases by anthropogenic sources. This paper surveyed the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock estimates and sequestration potentials from 20 regions in the world (New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, India, China Taiwan, South Korea, China Mainland, United States of America, France, Canada, Belgium, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Russia). We asked whether the 4 per mille initiative is feasible for the region. The outcomes highlight region specific efforts and scopes for soil carbon sequestration. Reported soil C sequestration rates globally show that under best management practices, 4 per mille or even higher sequestration rates can be accomplished. High C sequestration rates (up to 10 per mille) can be achieved for soils with low initial SOC stock (topsoil less than 30 t C ha− 1), and at the first twenty years after implementation of best management practices. In addition, areas which have reached equilibrium will not be able to further increase their sequestration. We found that most studies on SOC sequestration only consider topsoil (up to 0.3 m depth), as it is considered to be most affected by management techniques. The 4 per mille number was based on a blanket calculation of the whole global soil profile C stock, however the potential to increase SOC is mostly on managed agricultural lands. If we consider 4 per mille in the top 1m of global agricultural soils, SOC sequestration is between 2-3 Gt C year− 1, which effectively offset 20–35% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As a strategy for climate change mitigation, soil carbon sequestration buys time over the next ten to twenty years while other effective sequestration and low carbon technologies become viable. The challenge for cropping farmers is to find disruptive technologies that will further improve soil condition and deliver increased soil carbon. Progress in 4 per mille requires collaboration and communication between scientists, farmers, policy makers, and marketeers.

Le présent article pose comme hypothèse principale qu’il existe une spécificité insulaire en matière de changement climatique, tant dans le domaine géopolitique que dans le domaine économique. A la différence des pays continentaux, le changement climatique est un facteur de structuration des États insulaires. Créée en 1990, 2 ans après que le GIEC commence ses travaux, l’Alliance des Petits États insulaires (AOSIS) s’est beaucoup investie dans la ratification du Protocole de Kyoto. Ces derniers se considèrent en effet comme les premières et principales victimes du changement climatique dont le coût pour leurs économies sera nettement plus élevé que celui supporté par les pays continentaux. Aux coûts directs, résultant de l’aléa naturel, notamment la montée du niveau de la mer et l’érosion du littoral qui lui est associée, se surimposeront des coûts induits par les mesures prises au niveau international pour lutter contre le changement climatique. Ces mesures conduisent à remettre la distance géographique au cœur de la logique de localisation des entreprises. La limitation des déplacements aériens et maritimes au long cours qui en résultera devrait entraîner une réduction de la demande mondiale pour les produits et services touristiques insulaires, suivie d’une concurrence exacerbée entre les îles pour attirer cette demande réduite. On assistera alors à la marginalisation des économies insulaires ne pouvant se positionner sur des marchés de niche aux échelles mondiales et régionales avec pour principaux corollaires l’exode rural et la migration internationale. Les recompositions économiques et territoriales qui s’annoncent sont des processus durables qui s’inscrivent dans le temps long. En revanche, le sommet de Copenhague a montré que la structuration politique des États insulaires sur la scène internationale est un processus fragile. L’AOSIS est sortie éclatée de ce sommet. L’avenir des îles est définitivement sous contrainte du changement climatique et il s’annonce bien sombre.

Received 4 September 2013 Received in revised form 21 November 2013 Accepted 28 November 2013 Available online 31 December 2013 Keywords: Anisole Pyrolysis Oxidation Tars Biomass Kinetic modeling 1. Introduction Environmental concerns such as the control of greenhouse gas emissions have led to an increased interest in the use of renewable energy. Biomass is widely used in combustion but can also be uti- lized in more advanced applications such as the production of a synthesis gas (syngas, a mixture of CO and H2), which can be used for the production of liquid fuels such as Fisher-Tropsch or meth- anol. Lignocellulosic biomass may be a promising feedstock through the gasification processes [1,2], but tar is also formed dur- ing gasification [3]. The tar content in the product gas is the major cumbersome and problematic parameter in the gasification pro- cesses [4]. Tar represents a complex mixture of over 100 com- pounds [5,6]. It leads to fouling, coke deposition, and catalyst deactivation. Hence, tar conversion or removal is one of the main challenges for the successful development of commercial gasifica- tion technologies and has been extensively studied [7,8]. Evans and Milne [5] defined three main classes of tars: primary tars (low temperature, oxygenated) and secondary and tertiary tars (benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons--PAHs, etc.). In com- bustion and gasification reactors, the heaviest (tertiary) tars are ⇑ Corresponding author. Fax: +33 3 83 37 81 20. E-mail address: pierre-alexandre.glaude@univ-lorraine.fr (P.-A. Glaude). abstract Anisole was chosen as the simplest surrogate for primary tar from lignin pyrolysis to study the gas-phase chemistry of methoxyphenol conversion. Methoxyphenols are one of the main precursors of PAH and soot in biomass combustion and gasification. These reactions are of paramount importance for the atmospheric environment, to mitigate emissions from wood combustion, and for reducing tar formation during gasification. Anisole pyrolysis and stoichiometric oxidation were studied in a jet-stirred reactor (673-1173 K, residence time 2 s, 800 Torr (106.7 kPa), under dilute conditions) coupled with gas chromatography-flame ionization detector and mass spectrometry. Decomposition of anisole starts at 750 K and a conversion degree of 50% is obtained at about 850 K under both studied conditions. The main products of reaction vary with temperature and are phenol, methane, carbon monoxide, benzene, and hydrogen. A detailed kinetic model (303 species, 1922 reactions) based on a combustion model for light aromatic compounds has been extended to anisole. The model predicts the conversion of anisole and the formation of the main products well. The reaction flux analyses show that anisole decomposes mainly to phenoxy and methyl radicals in both pyrolysis and oxidation conditions. The decomposition of phenoxy radicals is the main source of cyclopentadienyl radicals, which are the main precursor of naphthalene and heavier PAH in these conditions.

Abstract During successive industrial revolutions, the objective has not only been for industry to improve and satisfy its direct needs, it has also been to improve society’s standard of living and make life easier for the consumer. Therefore, economic growth should always go hand in hand with each industrial revolution. The medical industry, energy conservation and, in particular, production technologies will be transformed through new value chain models. Globalization, urbanization, demographic change and energy transformation are the transforming forces estimating the technological impetus for a better identification of solutions for a world on the move. In recent years, successive revolutions have made remarkable contributions to a person’s quality of life, safety, industrial economy, comfort and health. This work aims at improving the energy consumption of buildings. To achieve this goal, we have created a Digital Twin that accurately reflects the behavior and characteristics of a future or existing building. To reproduce a copy of the future or existing building, we chose to use the Autodesk REVIT solution to meet several constraints. These have a significant influence on the energy behavior of the building.